ORAL ORDER

1. The petitioner has preferred this petition, seeking to invoke extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 and supervisory jurisdiction under Section 227 of the Constitution of India so also inherent powers of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

2. This application is preferred seeking release of Maruit Wagonr bearing registration No.

GJ-19-AF-7369.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that he is the owner of the aforesaid vehicle and it is duly registered with the transport department of the Government. He is, therefore, before this Court.

4. The case of the prosecution is that on 22/09/2018, while the police personnels were on patrolling, they received a secret information of the vehicle in question carrying liquor and when police authorities intercepted the same, on carrying out the search of the said vehicle, its driver was found carrying liquor without any pass or permit. Therefore, an FIR being Prohibition / III- C.R. No.407/2018 came to be lodged with Mandvi Rural Police Station for the offence under the Gujarat Prohibition Act.

5. This Court had issued rule. Today, learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner is heard at length.

6. Learned Advocate for the petitioner has urged that this Court has wide powers, while exercising such powers under Article 226 of the Constitution. It can also take into account the ratio laid down in the case of ‘SUNDERBHAI AMBALAL DESAI VS. STATE OF GUJARAT’, AIR 2003 SC 638, wherein, the Apex Court lamented the scenario of number of vehicles having been kept un-attended and becoming junk within the police station premises.

7. This Court has also heard the learned APP and she has urged this Court that the appropriate conditions be imposed, while ordering the release of the vehicle. She further pointed out that this Court (Coram: J.B. Pardiwala, J.) in the case of ‘ANILKUMAR RAMLAL @ RAMANLALJI MEHTA VS. STATE OF GUJARAT’ in Special Criminal Application No. 2185 of 2018, Dated: 05.04.2018, and in the earlier decision in ‘PARESHKUMAR JAYKARBHAI BRAHMBHATT VS. STATE OF GUJARAT’ in Special Criminal Application No. 8521 of 2017 and the allied matters decided on 15.12.2017 has held that the powers of the Magistrate to order interim release of the seized vehicle under Section 98(2) of the said Act has been curtailed, and therefore, the Courts below have been held to have no jurisdiction to order interim release of the vehicle, pending trial, where, the vehicle is seized in connection with the offence under the Prohibition Act and the quantity of the liquor seized exceeds 10 liters. She, further, urged that, of course, powers of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to order release of the vehicle can be exercised at any time, whenever the Court deems it appropriate. She also pointed out that the recent decision of this Court in Special Criminal Application No. 2185 of 2018, where, this Court, in exercise of the powers under Article 226 of the Constitution, has ordered the release of the vehicle, pending trial. She has also pointed out the order passed by this Court in Special Criminal Application No. 1126 of 2018, Dated: 21.06.2018, in case of ‘GUJARAT STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION THROUGH DEPOT MANAGER, MORBI, VS. STATE OF GUJARAT’.

8. On thus hearing both the sides, without determining the other issues raised by the petitioner, in reference to Sections 98 and 99 and other provisions of the said Act and reserving that to be determined in future, in an appropriate proceedings being a contentious issue, this Court choses not to enter into that arena in the present matter and instead exercise the powers under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

9. This Court (Coram: J.B. Pardiwala, J.) however in the case of in ‘ANILKUMAR RAMLAL @ RAMANLALJI MEHTA VS. STATE OF GUJARAT’ (Supra) in Special Criminal Application No. 2185 of 2018, Dated: 05.04.2018, has also returned the vehicle recently under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constituti